


The Skeletons in Your Closet

by DrabblingSparks (ingenious_spark)



Series: Silmarillion prompts & short fic [14]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Drabble, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Illustrated Work, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, Prompt Fic, Skeletons, Taxidermy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22054804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ingenious_spark/pseuds/DrabblingSparks
Summary: Caranthir has skeletons in his closet.No, literally.
Relationships: Caranthir | Morifinwë/Haleth of the Haladin
Series: Silmarillion prompts & short fic [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1026144
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41





	The Skeletons in Your Closet

**Author's Note:**

> From a list of prompts over on my tumblr, [@oopsbirdficced](http://oopsbirdficced.tumblr.com).
> 
> Art by Leitiko / [@leitiko-art](http://leitiko-art.tumblr.com)!

Caranthir bends to his work, noting the addendums the dwarves have made to their contract agreements. He will have to send a letter to clarify one of them. He draws a fresh sheet of onionskin towards himself, setting aside his quill for a stick of charcoal to draft the letter with. 

“Can you tell me why you have an actual skeleton in your closet?” The voice startles him, and causes him to jerk, creating a streak of charcoal and ripping the thin, translucent paper. He frowns down at the paper in annoyance, and turns towards the source of the voice. Haleth wears one of his tunics as a short dress, and his cheeks warm at the sight. The question finally registers, and he rolls his eyes a bit.

“It’s not as if it’s the skeleton of a sentient being, Haleth. It’s a rabbit skeleton.” And one of a stoat, a ferret, a weasel, a rat, a mouse, a shrew, a goose, and a fox. 

“Not just a rabbit!” She points out, holding up the carefully mounted shrew skeleton in one hand, and a candle in the other, peering close at it. Caranthir admits, it’s probably a somewhat unsettling sight. The closet is also filled with furs that he has yet to make use of, as well as his shelf of mounted skeletons. The rabbit is merely the one closest to the door.

“They’re gifts, actually. Begetting day gifts. My elder brother Celegorm thinks I need better decorations around the house.” Caranthir sighs, half irritated and half fond at the thought of Celegorm. 

“Well, I mean, you could stand to decorate with something other than books. Though the embroidery you’ve got between the bookshelves is nice. Who does that?” She asks, setting down the skeleton and peering further into the closet. She’s careful with the candle, he’s gratified to see.

“I do the embroidery,” he replies idly, before recalling that humans place strange gender roles on certain crafts. Is embroidery one of them? Judging by Haleth’s surprised look, it is. Ah, well. She doesn’t spend time with him because he matches the human ideal of a male, after all. 

“And all the knitting you have? The sweaters, socks, shawls?” She asks with a strangely sly look. 

“My eldest brother, Maedhros.” He tells her, wondering what she’s angling after. “It took him a while to resume after his injury. Curufin created him a mechanical hand to replace the one he lost. A marvel of engineering.” Haleth smirks slightly.

“How many siblings do you have again?” She asks, and Caranthir sighs. He needs to get back to his paperwork, and here he is humoring her strange whims. What has she done to him? 

“Six brothers,” he replies, standing and walking over to her, setting a hand on the small of her back. “Why so curious suddenly?" 

"What, I can’t want to know more about your family?” Haleth sets the candle aside carefully atop a low bookshelf and leans against Caranthir comfortably. He shifts his arm to wrap around her shoulders. 

“I feel like you’re angling for something, but I don’t know what,” he complains mildly. 

“You’re so like a cat.” She laughs at him gently. “So what do your other brothers like to do?” Caranthir sighs, put upon, but complies with her wishes.

“Maedhros likes knitting, as I said, and also reading. Maglor is a musician and composer, and it is his lifeblood. Celegorm likes taxidermy and hunting. Curufin enjoys jewelsmithing and invention. The twins, Amrod and Amras both enjoy hunting, and they also like to design and sew clothing.” Caranthir reels off the list in a slight monotone. Haleth laughs. 

“I forget your people don’t have cultural restrictions on what your folk think men and women should or shouldn’t do.” She remarks, and Caranthir nods to himself. That had been what this is all about after all.

“We don’t,” he agrees, and hesitates, passing a hand over her soft, springy curls. In the end, he doesn’t speak, merely bowing his head to kiss her briefly. “I should get back to my work.” He tells her gravely. 

“Ah, so responsible,” she teases him, pressing up onto her toes and tugging him back down into another kiss. “I can think of more pleasant occupation,” she suggests slyly. Caranthir chews his lip a little.

“Oh, I suppose I could be convinced,” he sighs softly, letting Haleth lead him away.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
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>   * Comments not in English
> 

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